By 2007, the Ratel armored personnel carrier was nearly thirty years old and had become obsolete. The South African National Defence Force launched the Hoefyster ("Horseshoe") program to develop a new wheeled infantry fighting vehicle based on the Finnish Patria chassis: the Badger. In addition to the infantry carrier variant, plans were made for a command vehicle, a self-propelled mortar, a missile tank destroyer, and a medical transport. However, the initial plans to deliver five prototypes by 2012 and 238 production vehicles by 2023 were not fulfilled due to the loss of design and manufacturing capabilities by the main supplier, Denel Land Systems. In November 2024, the program was suspended indefinitely.

The Badger was introduced in Update 2.47 "Leviathans". Its main armament is a 30 mm cannon, which makes frontal engagements with most opponents impossible, forcing the vehicle to rely on flanking maneuvers. Fortunately, the vehicle is mobile, accelerates well, and maintains speed across all types of terrain. Its armor protects against 20 mm shells from the front, though not reliably; the sides, however, are vulnerable even to 12.7 mm bullets. The four-person crew is spread out within the fairly large vehicle, which increases survivability. The rear-mounted fuel tanks and additional ammunition storage provide an extra bonus for it.